Jealousy and Turmoil
by Tears in Heaven
Summary: *Sequel to The Difference One Person Can Make* It's been three years since Téa left for New York. Seto has finally befriended Yugi and the others, but when Téa comes back to find Seto with another girl, will their relationship last? R R plz !
1. A New Beginning

Disclaimer: I do not own any part of Yu Gi Oh.   
  
Hushpuppy24: Yes! The sequel's first chapter is finally up~! ^^ Please enjoy~! I've had lots of fun writing 'The Difference One Person Can Make' and I'm sure this will be just as great...I hope... ^^|| Anyways, enjoy the story~! ^^  
  
Chapter 1  
  
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Three years has gone by ever since Téa left for New York. Seto's life had returned to the way it had been before Téa and he had gotten together. Go to school in the morning and working on Duel Monsters stuff until late at night. Although there was a tiny difference... His attitude and confidence in others had increased, all because of a promise he made.  
  
* Flashback *  
  
Téa leaned in and kissed Seto gently on the lips. "Promise you'll come back to me?" Seto asked with worried confusion.   
  
"I will..." Téa promised. "...As long as you treat others the way you treated me. I want you to be happy..." She stared deeply into his eyes. "...And friends always brings happiness." She gave him a weak smile. "Promise me?" Seto nodded.  
  
* End Flashback *  
  
'She'll be back soon...' Seto thought with a smile. Over the years Téa left, Seto had slowly became friends with Yugi and Tristan. There were still complications with Joey, but he had still tried. At first he isolated himself for the first week or two and he even skipped school. Yugi had stopped over on several occasions, trying to talk to him, but Seto never listened. Mokuba worried over his big brother night and day, afraid that Seto might not keep his promise, and won't be there for him anymore. It was until Seto received his first letter from Téa, that he had more confidence in himself and was a little more trusting. He had kept the letter close to his heart.  
  
* Letter *  
  
Dear Seto,  
  
It's only been a day but I miss you already. I wish you could be here right now, but you have your responsibilities back in Tokyo... Anyways, I've just gotten off the plane and entered my dorm for the Dance Academy. The people here are great and I've made several friends already. I hope you're keeping your promise to me because I've got my friends to watch over you... So I'll know! I hope you're happy as always! Remember, I'll always be there for you.  
  
Love you lots!  
  
Téa  
  
* End Letter *  
  
"I hope she'll be back soon..." Seto mumbled to himself. Contact with Téa had become less and less frequent as the years passed by, mainly because Téa had to practice more and more often each day to perfect the routine, leaving barely any time for communication outside of the academy. Seto had worried that him and Téa were growing farther and farther apart each day, but Mokuba had reassured him that the love the two of them shared would always keep them together.   
  
Speaking of Mokuba, he's finally found a special someone for himself too! He finally told the person he liked how he felt, and of course, that person is none other than Alex! That little pink haired girl with fang-like teeth had grown into a beautiful young lady. Although she's still a little childish sometimes, her charming personality had stolen the little Kaiba's heart. Seto had no objections even though he still thought the girl was strange, but he was quite happy that his brother found a person he loved dearly that bring him happiness, a kind that nobody else would. Sure, Seto and Mokuba share a special kind of love too, but that is only brotherly love. Alex was always able to bring out Mokuba's full potential and always made him smile. Her childishness made her seem funny, not of annoyance or a burden. Mokuba still kept his same old haircut, long like always. The two were nearly inseparable! Weather it's in school or outside of school.   
  
Yugi had finally gotten over his broken heart, although his feelings still stayed the same. He slid his letter to Téa in one of his drawers, and it was never spoken of again. Yugi's height has grown a lot. If you look from far away, he'd remind you of Yami, but he's still got his sweet and innocent look that totally melts your heart. He and Téa's friendship was still at a very strong bond, even at such a great distance, although his true feelings for her was never revealed.  
  
Joey still hadn't completely gotten over the fact that Téa chose Kaiba over Yugi, but he's learned to keep control of his rage over the matter. His sister, Serenity, had made a full recovery of her eyesight. Serenity had stayed over at Joey's for a couple of months, but she had to leave again, forced by her mother. Joey's mom was grateful that her son saved Serenity from going blind, but she didn't want to lose her other child to her ex-husband, whom she refuses to even be in the same room as.   
  
Serenity instantly fell in love with Yugi when Joey told her how Yugi gave him the money for her operation, and how great of a guy he is, risking his life for his grandpa and even surrendering to Kaiba to be sure he wouldn't kill himself. Over those months, Serenity had tried to be as close to Yugi as possible, but Yugi still had no one in his heart except Téa, and only recognized Serenity as a friend...nothing more. Serenity never knew about Yugi liking Téa, but her feelings for Yugi were very obvious to those around her, excluding Yugi. She was heartbroken when she had to leave, but Joey told her she could come back anytime to visit. Their mother had no problem with that as long as she doesn't lose Serenity too.  
  
Tristan surprisingly, became the person Seto talked to the most, aside from Mokuba. If it were one thing that they had in common, it would have been picking on Joey. They'd tease him at lunch or during free blocks at how badly Yugi was beating him in Duel Monsters. Joey, though, would always snap back with a remark of how the other two couldn't beat Yugi either, and would always get beaten up playfully afterwards. Although once or twice, Seto did give Joey a black eye or two. Seto tried opening up to Tristan a couple of times, but it just wasn't the same as it was with Téa. So he found himself gaining more happiness with the times he and his new friends shared, than the gain of more depression and suffering with the time he had to think to himself, reminiscing his miserable past. Tristan was a big help to Seto, even though he had been likely to do so. Everyone was shocked when they heard Seto laugh for the first time at something Tristan said about Joey! Even Seto himself was shocked that he could make such a noise!  
  
Téa's parents had continued travelling around the globe. They barely ever return to their own home for a long time, so they rented out their house and stayed over at Yugi's when they needed, just until Téa returns to Tokyo. They sent her care packages every month or so, delivering her all sorts of souvenirs and goodies they bought around the world. They even stopped by her dance academy once for a surprise visit when Téa's father had an assignment there. They still loved their daughter very much, even if they weren't always around to show it like how most parents are...because they still care about their darling daughter very much.  
  
Téa, the one who left her friends and family to pursue her childhood dreams, has never lost contact with all those that she cared about back in Tokyo. Even when her schedules are filled, she still tries and writes at least one letter to someone. Phone calls were expensive, so the only person that wouldn't have a problem receiving collect calls was Seto, but the phone wasn't exactly for public use, so there were not many chances when she could make a call. At times when she felt like giving up and going back home, she'd look at the bracelet on her wrist and the ring on her finger, knowing that Seto and her friends wouldn't want her to give up, and would be there to support her every step of the way. No aching feet or long hour practices were going to break her spirit! After years of hard work and dedication, Téa had finally gotten the title of 'Best in the Class of 2005.'  
  
******************  
  
After three long years, Téa was finally returning home! 'I'm so excited!' Téa yelled in her mind. 'I'm finally going to see Seto and my friends again!' She looked at her hand where her ring and bracelet were and a small smile appeared on her face. 'I'll be back soon...' She thought.  
  
She looked out the window and could see the lands of Tokyo beneath a thin layer of clouds. "Can I have your attention please?" The flight attendant spoke into a microphone at the front of the plane. "We shall be landing in Tokyo, Japan shortly. Please fasten your seatbelts and put your seats back to an upright position." Téa buckled in her seatbelt as she watched the plane slowly begin to land. 'I'm home! I'm finally home...' She thought to herself, as her smile grew wider.  
  
******************  
  
Téa was now standing in the streets of Domino. She waked around the small neighbourhood near her house, dragging her suitcase with wheels behind her. The place hasn't changed much, except the park now has a bigger jungle gym for the little kids to play in, and a few more houses have been built. Téa had been walking around for about half an hour when she found herself right across the street from the library. She was about to cross when she spotted a familiar figure standing outside the library. Short brown hair and what seems to be blue eyes. Tall yet muscular, wearing a blue trench coat and teal coloured shirt.   
  
"Isn't that Seto?" Téa asked herself. She was about to call out his name to see if it was really him when another female voice called for him.  
  
"Seto!" Téa heard, as she watched a young girl around her age run up to Seto and wrap her arms tightly around him. Téa put her hand over her mouth in shock as her eyes widened.  
  
  
Hushpuppy24: Finally, the sequel is up~! ^^ It would've been up yesterday but I was at Metrotown...^^|| * Nervous laugh * Anyways, please don't over react until you read the rest...because I don't want you people to start screaming at me...ok? Thanks... School is starting soon, so please give me time to type it out. Review please~! ^^  
  
Also been hooked on a Japanese song called 'Change the World' by V6. It's from Inu Yasha~! Such a great song~! ^^ 


	2. Secrets Revealed

Disclaimer: I do not own Yu Gi Oh. It belongs to Kazuki Takahashi. I was going to say that last time but I forgot~! ^^||  
  
Hushpuppy24: Three years had gone by and we take a look at how the cast had been doing. Seto had finally befriended Yugi and Tristan, and is working it out with Joey still, all because he made a promise to Téa that he'd do so. At first Seto isolated himself from everyone else, even skipping school. It was until he got his first letter from Téa that his behaviour changed. They communicated through writing since phone calls were hardly available, but letters came less frequently as the years passed by. Mokuba was now going out with Alex and Yugi had finally gotten over his broken heart. He still felt the same way towards Téa, but their friendship was much stronger. He's grown a lot and looks a lot like Yami in a way. Joey has now learned to keep control of his temper around Seto and his sister's eyesight was now all better. Serenity instantly fell in love with Yugi as soon as she heard about his bravery and generosity, although Yugi never thought of her as more than a friend. Tristan had become Seto's closest friend other than Mokuba. It surprised everyone including, himself. Téa's parents visited their daughter once or twice when they stopped at New York for assignments and rented out their house since barely any of them really stays in there anymore. Téa had always tried to keep contact with her friends no matter how busy she was, but writing letters took lots of time, of which she didn't have much of, but she still tries to write one letter every week or so to one of her friends. Three years passed and Téa was now returning home. She looked out the window of the plane as she thought about meeting her friends and Seto again. After the plane landed, Téa walked around Domino, observing the sites, which hadn't changed much. She was about to cross the street to the library when she saw a figure that looked a lot like Seto. She was about to call for him when another female voice called his name, running up to him and giving him a hug.  
  
Who's the girl you may ask? Read next chapter to find out~! She's not going to be in this one yet so you'll just have to wait and see~! ^^ Oh~! And for those of you thinking it's Alex, it's not her~! Sorry~! ^^|| Just don't yell at me please~! ^^|| And now...to continue with the story...  
  
Chapter 2  
  
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The two people went inside the library and disappeared through the doors. Téa couldn't believe her eyes! She knew that Seto and her haven't talked much in the past few months, but she'd never thought he'd find someone else so soon! Tears welled up in her eyes and slowly began to make their way down her cheeks. She started to run, dragging her stuff behind her. She didn't care where she ran to, she just wanted to get away from it all. She didn't know why, but every time she was upset, she'd find herself in front of the Turtle Game Shop...and that was exactly where she was at the exact moment!  
  
She ran through the glass doors and let go of her suitcase, as a mini chime rang by the door, notifying that the door had been opened. Téa continued to run...up the stairs and into Yugi's room, slamming the door shut behind her and collapsing on his bed. She buried her head in the pillow as the fabric slowly absorbed her tears of pain.  
  
******************  
  
Downstairs, Yugi and his grandfather looked in amazement and shock. A girl had just ran through the door into their shop and up into part of their house!   
  
"Did you see who that was?" Questioned Yugi's grandfather.   
  
"No, I don't think so." Yugi responded.   
  
"I'll go see who it is." Grandpa said as he took a baseball bat into his hands.  
  
"No, I'll go." Yugi said as he took the baseball bat. "But I won't need this." He gestured at the bat and leaned it against the wall where it had belonged.  
  
"Be careful." Grandpa said as he watched Yugi go up the stairs and towards his room. He turned his attention to the suitcase that was lying on the ground. "Now lets see who this belongs to..." He said as he picked up the suitcase and read its tag. He was quite surprised at who the luggage had belonged to, but a smile could be seen under his thick, grey beard.   
  
******************  
  
Yugi slowly opened the door to witness a brown haired girl crying. Her back was towards him so he couldn't see who it was. The crying figure continued to shed more tears on Yugi's pillow; still not realizing he was watching over her at the doorway. "Excuse me Miss, are you all right?" Yugi asked gently.  
  
Téa's ears perked as she heard his gentle soothing voice. She turned around to face the tri-coloured hair boy. Her eyes were puffy, tears still blurring her vision. "Yugi?" She mumbled in between sniffles as she wiped away her tears with her sleeve.  
  
"Téa?!" Yugi asked in shock. "What's wrong?" He asked, rushing to her side and helped lift her to a sitting position.  
  
Téa was amazed at how much taller Yugi has grown, but that thought didn't last long as she began to cry again. She hugged Yugi close as she cried on his shoulder, as his t-shirt was drenched in her tears.   
  
Even though it had been three years since Yugi last saw Téa, his feelings for her still hadn't changed a bit, causing him to blush a light shade of red. He stroked Téa's back gently like he had always done ever since they were little, trying to calm her down. "It's ok..." He whispered into her ear.  
  
They both stayed in that position, which felt like forever, even thought it had only been a few minutes. The two never even noticed Yugi's grandpa watching them from the doorway. He was only there for a while, but he saw all that he needed to see before heading back downstairs.   
  
Téa slowly lifted her head from Yugi's shoulder and pulled away slightly until their faces were so close that their noses nearly touched. Yugi had wanted to kiss Téa so badly at that moment, but he just couldn't bring himself to do that. He knew Téa had only Kaiba in her heart, and kissing her would jeopardize her relationship with Kaiba and their friendship...the friendship that he didn't want to lose...ever.   
  
Many thoughts raced through Téa's mind. She's never really noticed how cute Yugi had been. His face showed pure innocence and his violet eyes were so captivating. He's gained a muscular build within these three years, unlike when he was easily picked on back then. And yet...his skin was still soft to the touch. His shoulders were much broader, but were comfortable to set her head on. Plus, his height had exceeded hers by a few inches, making him very attractive.  
  
Both of their cheeks turned crimson as Téa slowly pulled herself out of Yugi's embrace. She began to wipe away the remaining streaks of tears on her face with her sleeve and smiled. Yugi smiled back and took Téa's hand away from her face.   
  
"You shouldn't wipe your tears with your sleeve. It's dirty and you might infect your eyes." He told her. "You must be hungry. Do you want anything to eat?" He questioned.  
  
"Sure." Téa replied politely.  
  
"Instant noodles like always?" He continued asking. Téa nodded in agreement and her smile widened a bit more. She didn't know why...but just being with Yugi always brought her happiness. Even in the darkest moments, he was always there to shine his light and somehow...always made everything better again, as if nothing had happen.  
  
"I'll be back in a little while. There are tissues in the drawer I think." With that he left the room and down into the kitchen to prepare the noodles.  
  
******************  
  
Back inside the room, Téa was still sitting upright on Yugi's bed. She was happy for a moment, but the thought of Seto finding someone else pained her heart as her eyes began to shed more tears. Téa reached for the drawer beside Yugi's bed and opened it, taking out a box of tissues. She placed the box beside her and was about to close the dresser when she noticed an envelope inside with her name written on it. She took it out and grabbed some tissues to wipe the tears away.   
  
"For me?" She asked herself as she carefully opened the envelope and took out a neatly folded piece of paper. Unfolding it, she slowly read its contents.  
  
Dear Téa,  
  
If you're actually reading this right now...I guess I've finally found the courage to tell you how I feel. You may not know this but I have very deep feelings for you...as more than just a friend...  
  
Téa's eyes widened as she reread the comment, just to make sure before she continued to read the rest. Her heart pounded quickly and her breathing became heavy. 'Yugi...has feelings for me?" She asked herself in her mind.  
  
I've liked you for a very long time now...but I was never able to tell you...afraid that I might lose you if you didn't feel the same way... There were several times in my life that I've wanted to tell you, but the words just could never come out the way I wanted it to...but now...it's too late.  
  
Téa paused as she thought back to the countless times Yugi had tried to express how he felt but she just never noticed. Especially when she told him she thought he liked Tammy... 'That wasn't Tammy he was staring at in science class...it was me!' She thought and returned her gaze back at the letter.  
  
I know you're with Kaiba now...and I regret all those times I could've told you how I felt, but never did. Still... I wish you and Kaiba both happiness, even after you come back from New York three years later. I just want you to know that my love for you is never ending and that you'll always be in my heart...even if I may not be in yours.   
  
I wish you the best of luck in New York...and I'm glad your dreams are finally coming true.  
  
Love always,  
  
Yugi  
  
May 17th, 2002  
  
Téa swallowed hard as she gripped onto the piece of paper, letting the fact sink into her mind.  
  
"Téa! Did you want eggs with your noodles?" Yugi asked as he entered the room. Téa lowered the letter and looked up at Yugi, her eyes watering. Yugi took one look at her expression, and then down at the piece of paper she was holding and knew instantly what had happened. She read his confession letter...  
  
  
Hushpuppy24: Oh my god~! What's going to happen next?! Actually I already know~! ^^ But yea...Anyways, I'm going to take some time to update because I want to work on my web page too~! It's finally been updated and lots of other stuff have been added within these two days~! ^^ And it's all in html too~! Lol~! ^^ Please take a look at it and sign my guest book~! It's at http://www.geocities.com/hushpuppy244/Index.html and most of the stuff is based on Yu Gi Oh and Fushigi Yuugi~! Two of my favourites~! ^^ Anyways, hope you liked the chapter and please review~! 


	3. My Love For You...

Disclaimer: I do not own any part of Yu Gi Oh.  
  
Hushpuppy24: During the last chapter, Téa watched in horror as Seto and another girl disappeared through the doors of the library. Téa felt tears streaming down her face as she ran away, dragging her stuff behind her. She ran to the Turtle Game shop and up into Yugi's room. Downstairs, Yugi and his grandpa stood in amazement, seeing a girl that had just ran into a part of their home, leaving behind her luggage. Yugi volunteered to check it out. He walked up the stairs and into his room, asking if the girl was ok. He recognized it was Téa later, and rushed to her side to comfort her. Yugi had grown a lot since she left and she had noticed those characteristics quite well. She wiped away her tears with her sleeve, but Yugi told her not to. He asked her if she wanted something to eat and she said yes. He informed her there were tissues in the drawer and headed downstairs to the kitchen. Téa opened the drawer and pulled out a box of tissues and a letter she noticed that was addressed to her. She opened it and read the letter thoroughly, stating of Yugi's feelings for her of more than just friendship, but of love. Yugi re-entered the room, finding Téa with his letter in her hand.  
  
Now with more of the story...  
  
Chapter 3  
  
******************  
  
Téa got off the bed and continued to advance on Yugi until she was standing in front of him, only inches apart. "Téa, I can explain! It was from three years ago and I-" He wasn't able to finish because he was cut off by a kiss...from Téa. Yugi didn't know what to do. 'Why is she kissing me?' He thought, but it didn't remain in his mind for long as he returned the kiss. The two finally broke the kiss and tears were streaming down Téa's face while Yugi was breathing heavily, gasping for air.   
  
He's never been kissed before, so this was his first time. "I'm sorry!" Téa burst out. "I'm so sorry!" She wanted to just run out the door if Yugi hadn't been blocking it. And if she tried to ram past him, he'd most likely overpower her, unlike three years ago when Yugi was not as tall...or strong. Téa looked at Yugi's expression through her blurry vision to only see confusion and shock. She turned around and tried to run back to the bed, but Yugi caught her by the arm and pulled her back to him, causing Téa's head to lean against his chest.  
  
Yugi tried to look into her eyes, but she refused to make eye contact. His heart was filled with hurt once more. The only possible reason why she kissed him was because she was upset about something and didn't know what she was doing. Yugi kept thinking about all the negative reasons of why Téa and he even shared a kiss, leaving him at the verge of tears. A teardrop fell from his eyes and onto Téa's face.   
  
She looked up to see Yugi with tears at the edge of his eyelids, struggling not to let them fall. Knowing this, she knew she was responsible for his tears. She buried her head in his chest and hugged him close while she let out a soft cry. Yugi hardly ever cried, not from physical pain at least... His emotions were usually the ones that made him cry...and right now, Téa had a pretty good idea of how he felt. He was crying because she was crying. That was the thing about Yugi...he has great empathy for others. If it were joy, he'd be happy with you. If it was sadness, he'll suffer with you. Some may think Yugi was a crybaby, being upset over such silly emotions. But his friends knew that if he could shed a tear when you're in a world of hurt...it means he cares deeply for you, even if he didn't know you very well. Téa held onto Yugi even tighter, not wanting to let go. She had the same comfortable feeling as when she was with Seto. Her eyes narrowed as she repeated his name in a low, yet bitter whisper. "Seto..."  
  
Yugi heard this remark and his hold on Téa instantly loosened and his arms fell back to his sides. Noticing this, Téa also let go of Yugi as she stepped back a bit so that they're several inches part. Yugi quickly wiped away his tears with his sleeve and tried to put on a stern face, but the hurt look in his eyes could be seen miles away. "Téa..." He finally spoke. "Could you please tell me what's going on?" He asked a little angrily. After hearing Téa whisper Kaiba's name, he had quickly come to the conclusion that she only has Kaiba on her mind and in her heart. Why she was with him right now was probably because she couldn't find Kaiba. He was just a substitute because his emotions were easy to toy with! Yugi's never been jealous before, but he won't stand to have his heart broken repeatedly by the same person...even if she is his best friend.   
  
Téa was a little taken back and upset by Yugi's sudden change of mood, so she turned around with her back facing him, so that he won't have to see her river of tears. Yugi felt guilty about raising his voice at her. He wanted to apologize, but the words just couldn't come out. He only hung his head in shame, standing motionless at the doorway. A knot formed in Téa's stomach as she searched her mind for words to say. After several minutes, she finally managed to mutter out three words. "I'm leaving Seto."  
  
"What?!" Yugi exclaimed in shock. He couldn't believe what he was hearing! Téa was breaking up with Kaiba?! "...Why?" He managed to stutter out. "He loves you a lot! He never stopped thinking about you ever since you left!" He tried to defend Kaiba. Even though Kaiba was considered his rival in love, he had always thought Téa and Kaiba were meant to be. It wasn't everyday someone would see the good inside a cold-hearted jerk, free his spirit...and finally...to fall in love with. Yugi especially didn't want to be the one that broke them up. If it had been the letter Téa read that caused her to change the mind, he'd never forgive himself.   
  
"Loves me a lot? Think about me everyday? HAH! That's a laugh." She said, her voice quivering.   
  
Yugi still couldn't understand why or what caused Téa's sudden change in behavior. "What are you talking about Téa? There was hardly ever a moment he didn't talk about you! Joey nearly chocked him for talking about you the whole time. He cares a lot about you!"  
  
"Cares about me?! How could you even say that? He wouldn't be with that other girl if he cares about how I feel!" She yelled out as tears trickled down her cheeks.   
  
"What? What other girl? Kaiba hasn't even mentioned another girl other than you!" Yugi was now getting worried. Téa had never raised her voice unless it was something she seriously believed in.   
  
"You're wrong Yugi..." Her shoulders shuddered as she let out a sniffle. "Very wrong..."  
  
"He really hasn't..." Yugi's tone lowered.  
  
"I saw it with my own eyes!" She shouted as she quickly turned around to face Yugi. Her cheeks were wet from her tears and her eyes were half squinted in pain. More tears fell as the image appeared in her mind again. "If he really did still love me, he wouldn't be off with another girl!"  
  
"Are you sure it was him? Maybe it was someone else." Yugi said.   
  
"It was him! Don't you get it? He doesn't want me anymore!" She continued to yell. Her gaze suddenly fell to the ring on her finger. "He promised..." She squeaked as more tears fell. Yugi looked sympathetically at his friend as he felt his own heart ache. There was a long silence until Téa finally spoke in a stiff tone. "I don't need him!" She looked into Yugi's eyes. "I still have you, don't I?"  
  
Yugi was speechless. "I..." He stuttered. Suddenly he felt Téa's arms wrap around his waist and her body leaning against his.  
  
"Please don't go too..." she muttered as she closed her eyes. She could hear the steady beat of Yugi's heart, and his body warmth was comforting. She felt Yugi return the hug as she snuggled in closer.  
  
******************  
  
That night, Téa stayed over at Yugi's house. She was going to be there for at least another week or two until the people that rented their house moves out. Téa stayed in the guest bedroom, where usually Joey stays when he sleeps over, but now, the Gardner's used it more often.   
  
******************  
  
The warm sunshine shone through the clear glass windows waking Téa from her, not so peaceful, slumber. Her dreams kept repeating the image of when that girl hugged Seto...and him hugging back. She got up and walked over to her suitcase, that had been brought upstairs by Yugi's grandfather last night, and dug deep into her clothes until pulled out a light pink tank top and matching blue jeans that showed her perfect figure. Changing into her new clothes, she headed out the bedroom door and down the stairs, into the kitchen.   
  
******************  
  
Yugi and his grandpa greeted Téa cheerfully as she entered the room. She replied back and joined them for breakfast. After breakfast, Téa decided to take a walk. Yugi offered to come along, but she just wanted to clear her head. Yugi understood and let her go.  
  
******************  
  
Téa walked through the streets filled with blossoming Sakura trees. She had always loved spring, but this year it pained her just to look at it. Not that Yugi wasn't a good choice or anything...it was just that Seto and her shared something special together...and she missed him...a lot. She quickly scolded herself for even thinking such a things. 'Why should I miss him?' She asked herself bitterly. 'He's got someone else now and so do I! Why should I care?' She pushed her feelings away, as she continued to trudge down the sidewalk, lost in her thoughts. She was so absent-minded that even she didn't realize she had stepped off the sidewalk and onto the road. The light was still green and several cars were passing. A loud honk came from one of the cars. They slammed on the brakes, tires screeching as they halted immediately, about a foot away from Téa's body. Téa had now snapped out of her trance and was scared stiff. She looked around to see the attention she had drawn herself, especially to a peculiar someone. The driver shouted rude complaints, as Téa apologized and stepped out of the way.  
  
******************  
  
Seto couldn't believe his eyes at whom he saw. 'Tea?!' He thought with excitement. Their eyes locked for a split second as Seto tried to cross the street of busy traffic. Horns beeped as each car halted quickly to not run over the boy while Seto maneuvered his way around. "Téa! " He called out, his sight still locked on her, as he watched her turn to his opposite direction, walking quickly away at a much faster pace.   
  
******************  
  
'Why is he here? Why is he doing this to me? Why is it that everywhere I go, he just has to be there? Doesn't he know he's hurt me enough already?' Téa thought sadly, still walking faster and faster with each step she took.  
  
******************  
  
Seto continued to run after her. 'Why isn't she stopping? Maybe she can't hear me... That has to be it!' He thought to himself as he yelled out Téa's name a little louder, slowly catching up to her.  
  
******************  
  
Tears outlined the edges of her eyelids as she listened to Seto calling out her name. She had once loved his soft voice...and still did, and yet at the same moment...it felt like daggers piercing through her heart.  
  
******************  
  
Seto had finally dodged all the incoming traffic and caught up to Téa. He grabbed her arm and turned her around so that she faced him, saying her name in a low voice, slightly louder than a soft whisper.   
  
Téa tried to avoid eye contact, but she was once again drawn to his beautiful crystal blue eyes... Then she started speaking in a not so nice tone. "Hello Kaiba." She stated while looking away from him.  
  
"Hi..." He replied back. Seto didn't mind Téa calling him Kaiba since she used to call him that in the first place. It's just that it seems a little less affectionate, a little less caring...and a little less love. By the tone of her voice and the look on her face, he could tell she was mad at him...but for what? "Téa? Is something wrong?" He asked gently putting a hand on her shoulder, but she shrugged it off. "I've missed you..."  
  
"Don't touch me." She muttered coldly. Seto was completely taken back by this and a look of hurt appeared on his face. "T...T...Téa?" He stuttered in fear for the first time, fear that she would leave him. "Is...there something bothering you?"   
  
"Yes, in fact there is." She said. "It's over." She said as stiffly as she could, trying to hold back her tears.   
  
Seto was completely shocked. He hadn't been expecting that from her. "What?" His eyes narrowed as a hint of tears formed.  
  
It had hurt Téa so much just to see Seto cry. "You heard me." Her voice quivered. "I'm breaking up with you." The words she spoke had hurt her just as much as the feeling of losing Seto.  
  
Seto was speechless and tried to search for words to say. "Why?" If...if I did anything wrong, I'm sorry! I can change! Please! Just please...don't leave me again..." He put his hands on both sides of Téa's shoulders, but Téa pushed him away as a tear slid down her cheek. "How can you? I go away for three years and you've found somebody else! I never should've thought you'd love me enough to wait so long. You promised me...but I've found someone else now! I'm with Yugi now! At least HE waited for me!"  
  
"What do you mean someone else? I've never stopped thinking about you!" Seto tried to defend himself.   
  
"I saw her with you outside the library yesterday. You've obviously found someone else...and so have I!" Téa shouted out bitterly.  
  
"Ayumi? No, she's not-" Seto was interrupted in mid-sentence.  
  
"Seto!" A girl from across the street called out. She had long, flowing blue hair down to her waist and wore a pretty pink hair band. Her bangs hung slightly over eyes and were wearing a matching white and blue outfit. She waited at the other side for the lights to switch as she played with her hair.  
  
Both Seto and Téa's attention turned to the girl, then back at each other. "I see you've made plans. I should go back to Yugi too then..." She said, her voice still quivering with sorrow.   
  
"You can't!" Seto gripped onto Téa's hand tightly and held it up. "If you don't have feelings for me anymore, why are you still wearing the ring I gave you?"  
  
Téa yanked her hand away from Seto's grip and tore the ring off her finger. "Take it! See if I care!" She forced the item into Seto's hand. She could now see the girl approaching them.   
  
Seto looked at the ring, then back at Téa. Don't you love me anymore?" He asked painfully.  
  
"I do..." Téa replied softly. "But you've found someone else. "She quickly snapped back with anger.   
  
"I-" Seto was about to talk but was interrupted again.  
  
"Seto! There you are!" Ayumi exclaimed. Seto had only turned around for a moment, but Téa was already gone. "I thought you were going to meet me over there!" She pointed across the street.  
  
"Oh...yea...sorry..." Seto mumbled, looking down at the ring in his hand.  
  
"Hey! Nice ring! For your girlfriend?" Ayumi asked curiously.   
  
"You could've said that..." Seto said depressingly.  
  
"Come on! You've still got to show me around! I haven't seen you since at the orphanage. We have so much to catch up on. I didn't come like half way around the world to just stand here all day. Come on!" She said as she dragged Seto away.   
  
Seto formed his hand into a fist with the ring safely held inside his grip. He took one last look back at where he and Téa last talked. "She's just a friend Téa..." He whispered. "Why'd you have to go?"  
  
******************  
  
Téa watched from behind a tree, as the girl dragged Seto along the streets, slowly out of her sight. "Goodbye Seto... I love you..." Téa whispered as she headed back to the game shop.  
  
  
Hushpuppy24: Phew~! Just thought that I should get one more chapter up before school starts tomorrow for most of us. Ok...I know this looks bad...but please keep reading~! ^^|| For those of you who likes Yugi/Téa fics better, I'm sorry, but I'm still planning to make it Seto/Téa. Maybe I can make a Yugi/Téa one after, but I just want this to be a Seto/Téa pairing. I know this looks a lot like a Yugi/Téa pairing, but I'm not planning for it to be...although some parts are kind of that~! So it's kind of like a little mix~!^^ Anyways, hope you liked the chapter...although I highly doubted most of you did...-_-|| Anyways, tell me what you think~! ^^ 


	4. Love vs Friendship

Disclaimer: I do not own Yu Gi Oh. Perhaps I'll own a vast selling anime/manga someday, but until then...I'll just continue with my stories~! ^^ Oh, and I don't own the book 'To Kill a Mocking Bird' either.  
  
Hushpuppy24: On the last chapter, Yugi tried to explain about the letter, but was cut off by a kiss from Téa. Yugi kept thinking up excuses of why Téa would do this but in the end, Téa said she wanted to be with him. She told him about how she saw Seto with another girl and that she didn't need him...because she had Yugi. Téa stayed over that night in the guestroom and awoke late next morning. She got dressed and had breakfast with Yugi and his grandpa. After breakfast, she decided to go out for a walk. She strolled down the streets looking at the great qualities of spring, but visions of Seto still clung to her head. Her absent-mindedness caused her to not notice herself stepping off the sidewalk and onto the road. Grasping attention of the streets, horns beeped as Téa was nearly ran over. On the other side of the street, Seto had also noticed Téa. Their eyes locked for a split second as both caught a glimpse of each other. Téa turned away and started walking away as quickly as possible, but Seto followed. He manoeuvred passed the cars and finally caught onto Téa. Téa only replied coldly, and when Seto tried showing how much he missed her, she began to bring up the fact that she was breaking up with him. Seto tried to defend himself, but Téa didn't listen. Seto was about to explain whom the girl was when that girl called for him from across the street. Téa was about to leave when Seto grabbed her by the wrist. He held up her hand and asked if she didn't love him anymore, then why would she still treasure the ring that was placed on her hand. With her rage, Téa tore off the ring and shoved it into Kaiba's hand. Ayumi, the blue haired girl, had finally reached the other side of the road and Seto's attention was turned to hers for only a few seconds, but Téa was gone after. Seto clutched onto the ring as Ayumi dragged him along. Téa watched from behind a tree as the two disappeared from her sight before heading home.   
  
Again with the next chapter...  
  
Chapter 4  
  
******************  
  
Téa slowly opened the door to the Game Shop and headed straight to her room. She passed Yugi on the way and didn't even notice. She laid down on her bed and closed her eyes.  
  
******************  
  
Outside the door, Yugi's heart filled with worry. He lightly knocked on the door and opened it slightly. "Téa?" May I come in?" There was no answer. He opened the door a little wider and stepped inside. "Téa? Are you ok?" He asked gently.  
  
******************  
  
Téa just let out a sigh. "I'm fine Yugi..." She replied. "I just want to be alone right now..." She said in a moan, as she hugged a pillow against her face, her voice muffled.   
  
"Ok..." Yugi said half-heartedly. He took one last glance at Téa before leaving the room. 'Why didn't I destroy that letter?! I'm so stupid!' Yugi cursed himself.   
  
'Well at least you and Téa are finally together.' Came a voice from inside Yugi. Yami was now speaking up. 'You've loved her for as long as I know and your love is finally being returned. Aren't you happy?'  
  
'Is my love really being returned?' Yugi asked Yami. 'Or is she just forcing herself to love me?' He thought sadly.   
  
******************  
  
Téa cried softly in her room, now hugging the pillow against her chest. 'Why'd I got and do that? Why?' She kept asking herself. 'The ring was all I had left of him... Now it belongs to him again... just like my heart...' She continued to cry as her voice was heard from the other room.  
  
******************  
  
Yugi sat on his bed, leaning against the wall as he listened to Téa's soft and muffled crying. His heart grew heavy and sank deep down into his stomach. It had hurt him just as much it had hurt Téa. Even if it were his dream to be with Téa, he'd never want it to be like this. He'd never hurt another just for his own happiness. 'Tomorrow...' He thought. 'I need to talk to Kaiba tomorrow... I need to know what's going on!' He continued to sit on his bed in thought, only now, his face wore a determined look.   
  
******************  
  
Seto continued to walk on, being dragged on by Ayumi. She bounced along the streets with her hyper activeness, as Seto trailed behind. "Come on Seto! You promised you'd show me around! What's with you? You were fine just yesterday..." She looked at Seto, but he his head was hung low, looking at the ring on the palm of his hand. She waved her hand in front of his face but there was still no answer. She looked down at his hands and watched the diamond in the center sparkle in the sunlight. "Would you get a grip already?" She asked angrily as she snatched the ring away.   
  
"Give that back!" Seto yelled.   
  
"No! You promised you'd spend time with me!" Ayumi yelled back.  
  
"Give it back!" Kaiba continued to yell. Ayumi finally sighed in defeat and handed it back.   
  
"I'm not asking a lot from you Seto..." She said sadly. "I just haven't seen you in a long time that's all..." She tried to look into his eyes but he didn't seem to be paying attention. "If it was that girl you were with I understand..." Seto's eyes suddenly darted to Ayumi. "I'm not stupid you know. I could clearly hear and see what was going on. She's that girl you were waiting for these three years isn't she?" Seto nodded slightly. "I see..." She hung her head low. "And I caused you two to split up...am I right?" Seto didn't want to answer. It was true that Téa broke up with him because she thought he and Ayumi were together now, but he could never say that to his one and only true friend.   
  
They met after a few days when Seto and Mokuba first arrived at the orphanage. Mokuba made friends fairly quickly, but Seto had much more on his mind. The pain he's suffered, battles between his heart and his mind...it was a lot more than what a 10 year old had to go through. A little after his mom passed away, his father also went as well. He and his brother were left with their aunt, but she was not able to take care of them afterwards either. The only choice was to be left at the orphanage and hope for the best that someone might want to take them under their care. Goodbyes became hard for Seto, but hellos became even harder. Seto didn't want to talk to anyone, sometimes not even Mokuba, but the little Kaiba never knew. He'd just always shrug it off and go off with his other little friends, but Seto always sat in a corner, either reading or just looking out the window. He'd let his thoughts wander and sometimes shed some unnoticed tears. The orphanage would've been a dark moment of Seto's life, but one faithful day made the whole experience some of the happiest days of his life.   
  
* Flashback *  
  
Ayumi had been observing Seto for the past few days now. She watched him quietly read a book near the window as she stood several metres away. She finally approached him and tapped him lightly on the shoulder. Seto looked up from the book and Ayumi could see his crystal blue eyes, so beautiful yet so filled with hurt. "Mind if I sit down?" She asked politely. Seto just shrugged and went back to reading. Ayumi took a seat next to him and for a moment...silence fell upon them. "So why don't you play with the others?" Ayumi asked. Seto gave her a confused shrug and went back to reading. "You want to come play with me?" Again, Seto gave another shrug. Ayumi was beginning to get a little angry. She comes over and offers to play with the lonesome kid and all he does is give her the silent treatment! "What's with you? Are you going to say anything at all?"   
  
"I have the right to not speak..." Seto mumbled quietly.   
  
Ayumi glared at Seto for a moment, but soon returned to normal. "What'cha reading?"  
  
"To Kill a Mocking Bird." Seto replied, still not looking up from the book.   
  
"How'd you get that? This is an orphanage after all..." Ayumi asked curiously. Orphanages didn't have much money, and books like those costs a lot to just buy one. For a second, it seemed that Seto tensed a little.  
  
"My...my mother gave it to me..." The young Seto explained. His words sounded hurt and bitter at the same time.   
  
"Oh? Where is she?" Ayumi wondered.  
  
"It's none of your business." Seto said sternly. He shut his book and began to walk away. For the next few days, Ayumi didn't stop trying to communicate with Seto, but she had actually slowly begun to gain his trust. Her unwillingness to give up showed Seto her loyalty and they soon became best friends.   
  
* End Flashback *  
  
"I know it was me..." Ayumi said solemnly. "Don't worry about it!" She began to run and waved goodbye to Kaiba.   
  
"Where are you going?" Seto asked loudly, but Ayumi didn't reply and just ran into the distance. He looked down into the palm of his hand as a thought of Téa crossed his mind. His heart still ached at what Téa had done, but inside he knew she didn't mean it. As long as he still had hope, he knew Téa would return to him someday. After all they've been through, it couldn't just end like that...can it? He slowly started heading for home, the ring still clutched in his hand. "My heart belongs to you Téa..." He whispered to himself. "You and only you... Forever and always will be..."  
  
******************  
  
That Sunday passed by quickly and Monday soon reached its peek. Yugi got up early and readied himself for school. He put on his t-shirt and jeans and went downstairs for breakfast.   
  
After a piece of toast and some milk, he picked up his backpack and headed towards Téa's room. He knocked gently on the door. "Téa?" He opened the door and stuck his head inside. Téa was in her bed sleeping soundly, but was soon awakened. She opened one of her eyes, but the other one still shut. "Good morning." Yugi greeted.   
  
"Morning Yugi." Téa replied.   
  
"Well... I'm heading for school now... Will you be ok while I'm gone?" Yugi asked worriedly.   
  
"I'll be fine. Why wouldn't I be?" Téa asked.  
  
"Just checking." Yugi replied before heading out the door and shutting it behind him. He trotted down the stairs and out the front door with only one thing on his mind. He didn't walk to school with Joey or Tristan that day. They had a basketball practice or something so they had to go early, leaving Yugi to walk to school by himself. He could've driven there, but he wants to be environmentally friendly. Besides, it wasn't very far away and he could use the exercise.  
  
******************  
  
As Yugi approached the school, Yugi could see Kaiba getting out of his car. Yugi approached Kaiba in a calm manner and caught him right after he slammed his car door shut. "Kaiba." Yugi said sternly. He could see that Kaiba is trying to avoid eye contact, but he definitely looked hurt. "Could I talk to you?" Seto still didn't answer. He walked a few feet away from Yugi when he stopped dead in his tracks at what Yugi said next. "It's about Téa."  
  
A rush of feelings swept over Seto's entire body. He clenched his fist a little tighter as he turned around and fixed his sight on Yugi. "What is it?" He said, trying to sound as tough as he could.  
  
  
Hushpuppy24: OMG~! I am absolutely SOOOOOOO sorry for the EXTREMELY late chapter~! *cries* I don't want this myself, but school started and all. And lucky me...-_- I get the teacher who just loves giving out projects...-_- And the whole bringing a notebook thing to school so I could work on my story thing is not working either since I have like NO time during class that I'm not doing some kind of homework so that really sucks... So I'll try to get my chapters up during weekends, and maybe weekdays if I ever get the time. Once again, so sorry T.T Stupid science project and humanities project...-_- Anyways, hope all of you will continue reading, but please expect delays sometimes because I've got way too much work... 


	5. Rediscovering Love

Disclaimer: I do not own any part of Yu Gi Oh.  
  
Hushpuppy24: Man~! Haven't written in such a long time~! Hope you all didn't forget about me and my little fiction here~! ^^ Again, sorry with late updates but I just got a new project again...yes another one~! -_- My teacher is like a project giving person... trying not to diss my teacher right now so yea... Anyways, I was also a little caught up in manga reading~! ^^|| Lol~! ^^ Anyways, on with the story then~! But first the summary...for those of you who forgot what happened last chapter...  
  
Téa came home with a long face, passing by Yugi as if he didn't even exist. To Yugi's worried heart, he tried to discover what Téa was crying about, although having predictions already in his mind. In the end, Yugi did not manage to find out what's wrong with Téa, but was determined to talk to Kaiba the next day. Meanwhile, Seto Kaiba and Ayumi were happily skipping down the streets of Domino...at least Ayumi was, but Seto had his heart set somewhere else. Ayumi got tired of Seto not paying any attention to her so she snatched the ring out of Kaiba's hands and won't give it back. Seto demanded the ring back, but Ayumi refused and continued to talk about how she hadn't seen him in such a long time and would it be so much to just spend some time with her, but Seto still demanded the ring back. Ayumi finally gave in and asked if the ring belonged to Seto's girlfriend, referring to Téa, and she was the one responsible for their break-up. Seto didn't want to answer since Ayumi was his first true friend he'd had when he was small. We find out a little of Seto's past in the orphanage. Escaping out of the flashback, Ayumi ran away from Seto, leaving him standing alone in the street. That Sunday passed by quickly and Monday soon approached. As Yugi approached the school, he noticed Kaiba leaving his car. He went up to him and asked to have a talk, but Kaiba declined until Yugi told him that it was about Téa.   
  
And now for the next chapter that I somehow found to write in the middle of all my work for this weekend...-_-... Enjoy?  
  
Chapter 5  
  
******************  
  
Seto stared hard at Yugi. He knew clearly that Téa was now going out with him. She said so herself, and he believed every word of it. He and Téa may be broken up right now, and she hates him with all her heart, but he still loved her with his. If she had only given him time to explain... His eyes no longer tried to hide his inner emotions that were filled with hurt, of which Yugi could see right through...but he asked anyways.  
  
"You don't happen to know what happened to Téa yesterday do you?" He looked at Seto straight in the eye and he could've sworn there had been tears that were about to flood his eyes.   
  
"You of all people should know what happened!" He yelled out angrily. "We broke up! I thought I could've been friends with you and I really did try! But what do I get for ever trusting in you people?! Nothing! That's what! You all just end up hurting me!"   
  
Yugi was totally taken back and tried to explain, but with Kaiba suddenly blurting out all his emotions, Yugi was left speechless to say anything.   
  
Seto was already at the verge of tears, but he wouldn't allow a single drop to fall. Not to Ayumi, not to Tristan and especially, not to Yugi! His archenemy, rival, and hatred for life. "You just have to take away everything of mine don't you, Yugi?! You and everything other person in this world! First you took away my dignity of being champion of Duel Monsters by beating me! And now you're taking away the only person that ever understood me and loved me as much as I loved her!"  
  
"No Kaiba! You got it all wrong! I AM your friend! Please let me help... " Yugi pleaded, but it didn't seem to help. All it seemed to do was build up even more rage for Kaiba. "Téa's just..." He tried to explain but Seto kept interrupting with his yelling.   
  
"How could you even call yourself a friend?! You took her away from me..." His right fist loosened and he looked at the ring that was still planted in the centre of his palm. He had not let go of it ever since the day before, and he did not intend to let go of it again until he can place it back on Téa's finger... He stared at the ring lovingly and yet, a painful feeling kept gnawing away at his heart...but he didn't care. The ring was the only thing left of Téa... "Téa..." He whispered to himself sadly. His mind flashed him all the memories they shared together, especially when she left him at the airport three years ago. "She promised..." He began to walk away but Yugi ran ahead and cut him off. "Move." Seto said without fear.   
  
"Wait Kaiba! I need to talk to you! You've got it all..." But before Yugi could finish, he was shoved hard to the concrete ground. As fate would have it, Joey and Tristan had just walked through the front gates of the school and caught glimpse of the whole ordeal. It shocked Tristan pretty much since Kaiba hasn't seriously hurt anyone for the past three years, even Joey! But this didn't shock Joey one bit. He and Tristan ran up to Yugi and before you know it, Joey had Kaiba pinned to the ground.   
  
Seto didn't care. He was in no mood for fighting, besides, he wouldn't really get hurt. It was Joey after all! The sore little puppy dog that is still a mere weakling compared to him. He didn't care about the scraped skin on his palms when Joey pushed him to the ground. He didn't care about the bruises he may be getting from the multiple punches he's receiving at the very moment. He wouldn't care if his life ended this very second... All he wanted was his only love back...Téa... He closed his eyes as his consciousness slowly drifted away from him.   
  
******************  
  
Seto's eyes slowly opened, his vision still blurred. "Man...that Joey did more than I thought he could..." He groaned. "...Téa?" He rubbed the back of his head as a figured walked away from him and out the door. He blinked a couple of times to regain his full vision, but the figure was already gone. His body ached in the pain, but he didn't care at all. A couple of bruises here and there that's all. Nothing he couldn't handle. His last thought before his fainting spell was still on his mind. He took a quick glance at his surroundings, but nothing seemed familiar to him. 'Where am I?' He thought to himself.   
  
******************  
  
The slender hand brushed against the banister of the staircase as she walked down the stairs quietly. Her violet eyes met the blue ones that belonged to a figure sitting on the couch, her face filled with worry. Téa immediately shot up from the couch as soon as she saw her friend come down from the stairs. "How is he?" Téa asked anxiously.   
  
"He's alright." The words came from a pair of lips smeared with red lipstick. "But if you cared so much, why didn't you just go check yourself instead of making me do it?" She said a little annoyed.   
  
"Mai..." Téa said a little uneasily, eyeing Yugi near the corner with Joey, who quickly turned away as soon as he saw Téa look at him. Téa returned her gaze back at Mai in a pleading look. Mai knew about Kaiba and her break-up, but she also wasn't too thrilled about her and Yugi together either. They just didn't look quite right together, even if Yugi is taller now. And of course, Mai is one to be based on appearance for one. "Fine..." Mai said with a sigh. "But you know..." She continued to trail off as she dragged Téa into the kitchen. Téa followed reluctantly giving a last glance at the closed door upstairs, the one that contained Seto inside.  
  
******************  
  
Yugi watched as Téa and Mai entered the kitchen, shutting the door behind them. "Hey Yug!" Joey spoke in excitement. "Must be pretty great now that you n' Téa are together finally." He elbowed Yugi in the stomach playfully.   
  
"Yea... I guess..." Yugi said half-heartedly. It just didn't feel right. He had imagined pretty much half of his life of how wonderful the day would be when he and Téa finally got together, but now... it just wasn't the same. A part of him wished Joey hadn't beaten up Kaiba... Otherwise they wouldn't have had to carry him to Joey's house, of which, he'd probably go ballistic after waking up. Of course there was that reason that Kaiba could've gotten seriously hurt too and Joey getting into deeper trouble than he did already, which was a month of detention. But another reason was because it worried Téa again, and to see her sad didn't do any good for himself either. Along with Mokuba, who needs his brother to care for him. Sure Mokuba's got Alex now, but there's nothing more deep than their brotherly love. Yugi stared at the kitchen door as if in a trance until he was interrupted by Joey's hand, which was waving frantically in front of his face. "Huh?" Yugi looked back at Joey.  
  
"What's with you? You dun act like you're happy..." Joey asked a little concerned. His best friend has had this crush on Téa ever since he could remember. It took absolutely forever until that night when Yugi was over at his house for a sleepover and he accidentally muttered out his secret crush, which no one knew of, while in his sleep. "You ok buddy?"   
  
"Yea. I'm fine." Yugi replied, trying to put on his best smile even if it had to be forced out.  
  
******************  
  
Téa stood silent, her eyes dropping to the floor as Mai gave her another peeved look. "If you still care about Kaiba, why break up in the first place?!" Mai exclaimed. "Didn't you hear him? He said that girl was only a friend, so why even bother with this." She reasoned, but Téa still couldn't accept it. "Look." Mai placed a hand on Téa's shoulder, showing her concern. "I know you still have feelings for him. Clearly anyone can see that. Why don't you just take a moment and think about it?" She gave Téa a weak smile.  
  
"I'll think about it..." Téa said softly. "But I have no reason to get back with him." She said, trying to stay strong to what she saw. She took in a deep breath to try the oncoming tears that would've poured out of her eyes. "Besides...I have Yugi now...and he's good to me..."   
  
"Oh get a grip Téa!" Mai nearly yelled out from her frustration. "Quit blubbering like a baby and just accept your feelings! Yugi's just a friend to you! I can see the way you look at him, and when you looked at Kaiba."  
  
"But..." Téa started.  
  
"But nothing! Look into your heart! That's what you told me to do, so why don't you do that yourself?!" Mai interrupted.  
  
Téa was silent for a moment, but soon, a small smile crept onto her face. "Thanks Mai. I didn't know who to call when I first heard the news, but...I guess I called the right person."  
  
"Anytime." Mai said as she gave a thumbs up. "Us girls gotta stick together ya know." She finished while giving a wink.  
  
Téa felt much better now after her talk with Mai. She'd always thought Mai was just another one of those snobby girls who only cares about herself, but she's changed so much after the Duelist Kingdom. "So...now that we're done talking about my love life, what about yours?"  
  
"What?! I have no idea what you're talking about..." Mai blushed madly.   
  
"You know who I'm talking about... Joey...hmm?" Téa teased.   
  
"Of course not!" Mai denied but blushed even more. Her face was now as red as a tomato and she could feel her cheeks burn. "Come on! Let's get back out there... You should go see Kaiba..." She tried to steer the conversation into another topic. Luckily for her, Téa agreed. Téa exited out the kitchen doors as Mai stalled a bit. A smile appeared on her face as the thought of Joey slowly settled into her mind. 'That face makes him look so dopey looking.' She giggled slightly at that thought. 'But so sweet too...'  
  
Téa's head popped out from behind the door again. "You coming Mai?"  
  
"Yea." She said as she exited out the door, following Téa back into the den.   
  
  
Hushpuppy24: Well...so long I haven't updated... -_-|| I did write part of this story a couple weeks ago, but it was too short to post, so I just finished it today. So sorry again for extreme lateness... but I just managed to complete my projects and handed them in today and now today I had no homework, so I had time to write~!^^ I should be working on my other project that's due on Monday...but I thought I should update first... Anyways, please review~!^^ 


	6. Unexpected Twist of Fate

Hushpuppy24: Wow... Another day and more time for me to write another chapter. ^^ Finally a weekend of no homework...well maybe except Chinese but no school next week for that so I get extra time~! ^^ YAY~! Anyways, on with the story...but first, gotta have the summary...unless some of you don't read it then you can skip straight to the story. But I always forget what happens on the previous chapters so summaries help me remember^^ 'I'll try to keep them short but I was never really good with summaries anyways...^^|| Oh, and also to Anime Queen, yes I know the Beauty and the Kaiba fiction isn't really my style...but that's what you get when you're forced to write it...^^||  
  
On the last chapter of Jealousy and Turmoil, Kaiba was hurt a bit from a fight he and Joey had. He didn't bother return Joey's hits out of his miseries and fell into unconsciousness. He awoke in a place, which he did not know where it is, but we later find out that it's Joey's house. His vision was still blurred but he saw someone walk away from him in view. His mind still clung onto Téa as the figure made her way down the stairs. The figure surprisingly was Mai, and she was a bit peeved because Téa wouldn't admit she still liked Kaiba. Mai pulled Téa into the kitchen to have a talk while Yugi thought worriedly of Téa's feelings. Soon after, Mai persuaded Téa enough to at least try to accept Seto again, but was teased back by being accused of liking Joey. Mai blushed crimson and suggested Téa to go check up on Kaiba, which she was about to do...  
  
Now the actual content...  
  
Chapter 6  
  
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Téa and Mai stood outside the doorway of Kaiba's room, while Joey gave them the evil eye. Joey must've been furious because his face was fuming red and if he were one of those characters of Pegasus's comics, his ears totally would've been blowing out steam. However, this thought caused Mai to just giggle to herself. She quickly turned her eyes back to Téa, who seemed to be having trouble opening the door. Her hands were quivering every time it came close to the doorknob and Mai was getting quite annoyed. "Come on... Just go in..."  
  
Téa gulped hard and looked down the stairs and into Yugi's eyes. Yugi didn't seem to be looking in her direction and instead was looking down on the ground. 'He must know...' Téa thought guiltily. She lowered her hand back and whispered to Mai. "I can't..."  
  
"What do you mean you can't?" Mai asked confusedly. "You still like him don't you?"   
  
"Yea I do..." Téa confessed. A silence fell across the two girls until Mai finally spoke up.  
  
"And the problem is?"  
  
"I just can't..." Téa said again. "I'm going to hurt Yugi... It'll be the same all over again... I've hurt him before and it's just too much... I've let him down way too many times..." She let out a small sigh. "I know you don't understand...but it's too hard..."  
  
"Get a hold of yourself." Mai said confidently. "If it makes you feel any better, I'll go tell Yugi."  
  
"No!" Téa shouted and with that, it grasped Yugi's attention for a short moment. She could see his eyes dart up to see what was the matter, but it quickly fell back as soon as his and Téa's eyes met.   
  
"Then what are you going to do?" Mai asked.  
  
"I don't know..." Téa replied.  
  
"If you're not going in then I'm taking you in there." With that, Mai took hold of Téa's wrist in one hand and reached for the knob in the other. Téa struggled to get loose but still couldn't. Joey watched the two girls struggle upstairs, but couldn't get a word out of his mouth. He was now confused but absorbed in the event since he couldn't hear a word the two girls said except for when Téa yelled out no. And now his curiosity was overtaking him again. Tristan sudden popped up from behind Joey and asked what was going on. Joey just moaned something that couldn't be heard at all and continued staring up the stairs. Tristan followed Joey's eyes and got a better glimpse of what Joey was looking at. It was Téa and Mai! As instincts hit Tristan, another way of teasing Joey popped into his mind.  
  
"So... Can't get your eyes off Mai huh?" Tristan joked.  
  
Joey quickly stopped staring and gave Tristan a death glare, as his face grew red. "SHUT UP!" He yelled. But just that little phrase got him the attention of everyone in the room. All eyes turned to Joey as his cheeks heated up. He looked up the stairs and realized that Mai was staring at him and quickly turned away.  
  
Mai who saw Joey look up also turned a nice shade of red. Téa saw her chance and slipped her hand out of Mai's grip. Mai quickly realized that and tried to get hold of Téa again.  
  
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Inside the guestroom, Seto was trying to have his moment of peace to think about Téa, but was disturbed several times from the gigantic noise that was created outside. He held onto the ring in his hand tightly and struggled to get up off the couch. The bruises and minor cuts didn't hurt that bad, but he was still drained of his energy and standing up was a little hard at the moment. He staggered over to the door and slowly opened it to find Mai and Téa struggling with each other in front of his doorway.   
  
The two girls froze in their place and quickly stood properly, both a little embarrassed. "Uh... Hi Kaiba..." Téa stuttered out. Mai suddenly pushed Téa from behind and she fell into Seto's weak arms. Kaiba swaggered a bit but kept a firm hold. Downstairs, Joey's mouth dropped at what Mai had just done. He would've yelled at her but Tristan was restraining him. Téa apologized and quickly turned back to yell at Mai, but Mai's motor mouth didn't stop to let Téa get one word out of her mouth.   
  
Mai quickly spoke and the words were hardly even heard because she was speaking at such a fast pace. "Well now that you two are just right there and talking, I shouldn't be bothering you guys then. I mean, you've got so much to catch up on and Kaiba, you're still injured and I'm sure you need your rest, so Téa can be there to just watch over you and everything. Anything you need, you can just ask her because she'll be right there!" Mai stopped a quick second to take in a breath from all the words she just blabbed out, but that didn't leave enough time for Téa to speak still. "Anyways, I should be going now! Don't want to keep you two from reacquainting! See ya!" Téa opened her mouth to speak, but Mai had already closed the door on them, leaving Téa and Seto alone in the room.   
  
Mai let out a big sigh as she shut the door as quick as possible. She turned around and started heading for the stairs when Joey's freaky face startled her stiff. "What did you think you were doing?" Joey muttered through his gritted teeth. Joey had managed to shake Tristan off his tail and was now standing face to face with Mai. Mai felt her cheeks grow a little warm and so did Joey because of the closeness, but that wasn't going to get the in way of their debate, especially not for these two.   
  
"Téa still likes Kaiba you know." Mai stated.  
  
"Does she really? Or are you just forcing her to like him again?" Joey accused.  
  
"And why would I do that?" Mai asked, getting a little more irritated. There had always been something about Joey that made her just want to yell at him, but then a part of her never wants to.  
  
"Because you're jealous!" Joey concluded.   
  
"Me? Jealous of Téa? Yea right!" Mai said sarcastically. "I have nothing to be jealous of. Believe me, my standards are way higher than that. No offence to Yugi of course." She looked down the stairs, but Yugi didn't seem to care about their conversation. "Besides..." Mai continued as she inched towards the stairway. "I've already got someone in mind." A small smile crept onto her face as she lightly pushed Joey aside and walked down the stairs and out the front door. "I'll see ya around later!" She waved back while she left the door still opened.   
  
'An even higher standard than Yugi?' Joey thought to himself. "Aw man, then that's DEFINITELY not me..." He whispered to himself. Joey trotted down the stairs, with Mai's perfume still wafting in the air.   
  
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Téa looked at the closed door and the darkness of the room. There was hardly any light there except for a small crack from the pulled down curtains. She looked around some more until she finally remembered she was still in Seto's arms. Overtaken by surprise, she pushed him away. Kaiba dropped to the floor and the ring fell out of his hands, but how much Téa wanted to get away from him seemed to just hurt him more...physically and emotionally. Téa knelt by his side and helped him up, slowly leading him towards the couch where he sat down. Seto looked at Téa, but Téa's eyes were turned to the floor. He understood and turned away as well. The room fell silent and neither one of them said one word. Téa continued look through the room. Joey's guestroom had a bit of redecorating done ever since she left. Not a lot, but still a bit. The furniture had been moved a bit and some things seemed to be missing. Like the clutter of comic books that belonged to Joey were now completely gone, and instead, some sweet smelling flowers took its place. 'Those flowers definitely aren't for Seto...' Téa thought to herself. 'No way that Joey would give him those...' She looked over to Kaiba, who was sitting there quietly, staring at the closed window shades. "So..." Téa searched her mind for words to say. "...How are you feeling?"   
  
Kaiba only gave a small shrug, but inside his heart, it ached of pain he's never felt before. Téa didn't know what to do. Her mind was still trying to decide on Seto or Yugi. She knew her feelings for Seto was much stronger, exactly what Mai had pointed out. But she just couldn't leave Yugi like that. He was just so gentle and loving...and his heart would be greatly hurt if she just left him... But then again, she's already hurt Seto too. Her mind played tricks on her and she thought things that didn't happen. She let her mind take over her heart and now it may be too late to fix it. She had tried pushing away these feelings before, but it never seemed to work. She could feel herself beginning to get warm. "It's a little stuffy here don't you think?" Téa asked as she headed towards the window. She pulled up the curtains and opened the window a tiny bit. The gentle breeze blew in, carrying away all of Téa's worries. She closed her eyes and just stood still at the window.  
  
"You don't have to be here you know..." Seto said sternly.   
  
"What do you mean?" Téa suddenly whirled around. Kaiba's eyes were still looking away from hers and she could feel the same hurt he felt.   
  
Kaiba smirked. "You must hate me don't you?"  
  
"What?! No!" Téa was completely shocked. She didn't expect him to say that.   
  
"Heh." Seto chuckled to himself. "It's ok. You don't have to force yourself to be near me just because you feel guilty for me..." He closed his eyes to let his thoughts wander. "It was silly of me to think that we'd be together after three years anyways..."   
  
"Seto..." Téa whispered sympathetically.  
  
"It was probably not meant to be anyways..." Seto took in a deep breath and exhaled. Looking into Téa's blue eyes, he spoke. "I wish you and Yugi the best... You two are a much better match anyways..."  
  
Téa's eyes widened at his words. "Seto Kaiba! Do you know what you're saying!" Kaiba only closed his eyes. "Let me ask you one thing." Téa said stiffly. "Do you still love me?" Kaiba opened his eyes, but they darted towards the opposite corner of the room. "I see..." Téa closed her eyes for a brief moment, then reopened them again. "Then there's no reason why I should be in here huh?" Téa began to walk towards the closed door, but a small object caught the glimpse of her eye. It sparkled a light shade of heavenly sky blue. Téa knelt down to pick it up. It was her ring...or it used to have been her ring. She clutched it tightly in her hand before getting up again. "Kaiba." She stated boldly. Seto's head shot up and looked at Téa. "I think this belongs to you." She then threw the ring across the room, at which Kaiba caught the precious item in the palm of his hand. He looked at it, then back at the doorway to see Téa leave...closing the door behind her with a small click.   
  
Kaiba stared at the ring lovingly, but later placed it lightly on the coffee table in front of him. The ring now meant nothing to him...at least he tried to think that way.   
  
******************  
  
Téa leaned against the door, her eyes beginning to water. 'Mai was wrong...' Téa thought to herself. '...So wrong...'  
  
  
Hushpuppy24: Another chapter completed~! Phew... Sorry if it sounds a little weird but right at this minute I'm kind of being brainwashed by my favourite song, 'Change the World' by V6... It's from Inu Yasha and even though I haven't watched the actual anime, I still love their songs. LOL~!^^ I've also been watching a lot of Fushigi Yuugi this past week so my mind is sort of wandering here and there. ^^|| Anyways, hope this chapter was still ok... Review please~!^^ 


	7. Is this the End?

Hushpuppy24: HEY PEOPLE~! I'M FINALLY BACK~! LIKE OMG...^^|| It's been like so long... because I have finals and everything... I actually still do...but I have this week to study for it since it's grade 12 provincial exams... but I've been studying for my science final like for weeks and then it's like so easy now...-_-|| anyways, continuing with writing my fics~! ^^   
  
In case you people forget, like me^^||, here's a "brief" summary of what happened last chapter...   
  
Téa had been quarrelling with Mai about her feelings right outside of the guest room Seto was staying in. Seto had just caught them outside and Mai quickly saw this chance to push Téa into Seto's arms and give them some time together alone. Meanwhile, Joey seems to think he has absolutely no chance with Mai because she said that special someone she had in mind was better than Yugi. Seto's self-depression continued to haunt him and later on, messed up the only chance of him and Téa getting back together. As Téa leaves the room, she finds the ring Seto had dropped on the floor. She picked it up and threw it back to him and closed the door behind her. Seto looked at the ring lovingly, but then placed it on the coffee table next to him, letting his heart slip away... or at least try to.  
  
And now for the story...  
  
Chapter 7  
  
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Téa leaned against the door, head lowered, her bangs covering her eyes as a small teardrop fell to the ground. "Well? How'd it go?" Mai asked with a confident smile. "You guys made up yet?"  
  
Téa stayed silent. She straightened herself up and faced Mai and tried to put a smile on her face. "Nah... I knew it wouldn't work out anyways..." She continued to try and force a smile, hiding her sadness. "We talked... and we just thought it'd be best for the both of us to... well... you know... split up... I mean we both got someone now right? Why try to lie to ourselves and force us to love each other?" She let out a nervous laugh. "Really! I'm fine!"  
  
"Téa! I know you still love Kaiba!" Mai tried to yell back. "Kaiba's not the one you're forcing yourself to love! It's Yugi! If you truly loved Yugi, it wouldn't be so hard-" Mai suddenly stopped and covered her mouth, realizing what she had said. Yugi's expression saddened from what he heard from downstairs.  
  
"You don't know what you're talking about!" Téa yelled back. "If you are trying to be a friend by splitting me and Yugi up right now, then I wish I never had you as a friend!" Both were in shock at what Téa had just said. Téa's eyes watered. "I'm sorry..." She said while sobbing. "I'm sorry..." She said before running down the stairs and out the door.   
  
"Hey Téa!" Joey called after her, but she bolted out the door before hearing him out. "Is she going to be ok?"  
  
"I think she just needs some time to herself..." Tristan said solemnly, as if he understood exactly what Téa was going through. Yugi slowly stood up, eyes turned to the ground, as he started marching up the stairs and to Kaiba's room.   
  
******************  
  
Téa ran through the streets, with tears still falling from her eyes. She wiped them away with her sleeves, but they just kept coming back. Her footsteps echoed in the evening streets of emptiness. 'What's wrong with me?' She thought to herself. 'Mai was just trying to help me... but I... I... I just...' She ran across the streets, not going anywhere in particular. She slowed down and came to a stop to catch her breath. 'Why does this have to happen to me...' She repeated over in her head. "Why?" She broke down in more tears as she fell on her knees, holding her hands to her face. Her body was weak from her run. She barely had anything to eat that day...and now this...   
  
A hand tapped her gently on the shoulder. "Miss? Are you alright?" The person asked.   
  
"I'll be fine." Téa said shrugging it off. She tried to get up, but she was so weak that she just collapsed over.  
  
******************  
  
Joey followed Yugi up the stairs to find Mai still standing there in the look of shock in her expression. Joey grew worried of this and wanted to just put his arms around her... but he just knew she'd never understand the way he felt about her. "Hey Mai..." He asked with a slight nervousness in his voice. "You ok? I mean like Téa doesn't usually blow up like that all of a sudden..." He could see Mai's eyes sadden. "I'm sure she didn't mean what she said..."   
  
"Maybe not..." Mai added lightly. "Anyways! Don't worry about me! I'm fine!" She said with a perked up attitude. "Little things like that won't bother me!" She said as she waved her hand, signalling that she wasn't bothered by Téa's words at all. "Really!" She gave Joey a reassuring smile. "I was just a little shocked that's all. I'm just gonna go outside for a bit of fresh air." She said as she headed for the balcony just outside of Yugi's room. Joey watched worriedly at Mai as Yugi headed for Seto's room.  
  
******************  
  
Yugi entered Seto's room without even knocking and closed the door behind him. "Kaiba..." He said sternly, his eyes still turned to the floor, his hair casting a small shadow over his eyes.   
  
Seto still laid on the couch, just lying there as if he was a helpless child. His eyes no longer sparkled, but only looking of a lifeless being.   
  
"Kaiba..." Yugi repeated again. This time, a little more steady in his voice, almost in the same tone as Yami if he had still been within him.   
  
Seto turned slightly to give Yugi a 'what is it?' look.   
  
Yugi looked up as tears flooded his eyes. "What did you say?" He asked hesitantly.  
  
Seto thought to himself for a while, but remained silent.   
  
"What did you say to her?" Yugi demanded much louder.   
  
"Who?" Seto asked in what seemed to be confusion. "I'm afraid I don't know who you're talking about..." He answered dully.   
  
This remark didn't phase Yugi one bit. "You know very well who I'm talking about." He said confidently. His eyes that were filled with determination quickly turned to eyes of sorrow. "Don't you realize how much Téa loves you?"   
  
"Heh..." Seto gave a small laugh. "...love me..." He repeated it to himself. "If she loved me, she wouldn't have wanted to break up with me... If she had loved me, she wouldn't have thought I'd leave her for Ayumi... If she loved me..." Seto got up from the couch and walked towards Yugi. "...she wouldn't have left me for YOU!" He grabbed Yugi by the collar and slammed him against the wall. "You took away the person that meant the most to me..." Seto's eyes watered, as his grip slowly began to loosen. "...and now..." Seto turned his head so that Yugi didn't have to see him cry. "...and now... she's gone..." Seto squinted to let his tears flow freely down his cheeks. "And I thought you were my friend... Téa was wrong..."  
  
For once in his life, Yugi could see the despair and hurt in Kaiba's eyes. Yugi's hands tightened and clenched to two fists. His frustration had finally gotten to him, and within seconds, Seto was on the floor and his cheek was red and swollen. "I can't take much more of this!" Yugi yelled out. "Would you really think I'd steal Téa away from you?! Téa and I had been best friends ever since I could remember... I'd be happy knowing that she's happy... even if I'm not the one she chooses to be with..." Yugi felt a small pain in his chest, but he continued anyways. "And I thought you understood that you were my friend as well... I just don't want anyone to get hurt..."   
  
For a moment, Seto had almost felt guilty of what he said, but his stubbornness took over in a flash. "Look! If I wanted to be punched and yelled at with some stupid friendship talk, I could've just talked to that puppy dog friend of yours! YOU PEOPLE SHOULD'VE JUST LEFT ME ALONE!" Seto shouted angrily. With that, he yanked open the door and slammed it shut behind him as he left.   
  
Meanwhile...  
  
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Joey walked up to the balcony, still staring at Mai. "Hey." He said monotonously as he looked out into the streets of Domino with Mai.   
  
"Hey." She replied in the same tone.   
  
"How ya feelin'?"   
  
"I'm ok..."  
  
A silence broke in the calmness of the evening sky. "So..." Joey muttered nervously. He stared at Mai lovingly. The sunset caressed her golden streaks of hair and caused the pink lipgloss she applied on earlier sparkle. Joey blushed several shades of red and tried to look away.   
  
"Thank you..." Mai said suddenly.   
  
"Huh?" Joey suddenly perked up with a confused look on his face. "What for?"  
  
Mai gave a light chuckle at Joey's confused puppy dog face. "Just for being my friend..." She smiled. "Actually... I should thank all of you..." She stared into the sky filled with shades of red, orange and yellow. "I've never really known what friendship is... And how greatly it really meant. I used to think that stuff like friendship and love... it was all just weak things ya know?" She turned to Joey as his face burned even more. "I guess I never really knew why... why you risked so much for your sister... or why Yugi for his grandpa... and maybe a little for Kaiba and Mokuba... but now I know..." She chuckled to herself. "You know what?" She asked.  
  
"What?" Joey pondered.   
  
"When I first saw you... my impression of you were that YOU WERE WEAK!" She laughed to herself. "I mean... you had to have help from Yugi to even be able to compete in the Duelist Kingdom!"   
  
"Hey! I still beat you didn't I?" Joey debated, a little peeved.  
  
"Ya... you did..." Mai admitted. "And I never really knew why... I guess it was because you had a purpose... Something worth winning for... a goal I guess... to save your sister and I... just for my own selfish acts."  
  
Another silence broke again. "HEY! Aren't you supposed to tell me something like 'Of course not Mai! You didn't know better.' Or something like that?" Mai raised an eyebrow and placed her hands on her hips, giving Joey a small death glare.   
  
"Uh... Well I... I can't help it if what you just said was true..." Joey said embarrassedly. Mai was furious, but she soon laughed it off after hitting Joey on the head. "I guess... Anyways, I just wanted to say thanks..."  
  
"But why are you saying all of this?" Joey asked.  
  
"You could say that Domino wasn't really my home to begin with... So I'm just going to go home..." Mai's eyes watered. "There isn't really much for me to stay here anyways..." She tried to force a smile.  
  
"But Mai... What about us?" Joey asked, his heart basically shattering to pieces. Mai blushed crimson as Joey quickly realized what he'd just say. "I mean! Your friends! ... like Yugi, Tristan, Téa, maybe even that jerk, Kaiba... and me..."   
  
Mai gave him a small smile. "Don't worry... I'll come back sooner or later."  
  
"And what if you're not?" Joey asked worriedly. "If you don't... I... I'll... I'll miss you a lot..." Joey said hurriedly while his eyes looked at the ground, trying not to feel too embarrassed.  
  
Mai's heart skipped a beat as both she and Joey blushed like mad. "Gotcha worryin' there for a minute didn't I?" Mai laughed nervously. "I'm not gonna let a little quarrel with Téa or anyone else stop me from seein' the people I love. I just need some time alone..."   
  
"The people... you love?" Joey asked shyly.   
  
Just then, they heard a loud slam of a door, so they went back inside to see what was the matter.  
  
******************  
  
Seto raced down the stairs in loud thuds and zoomed passed Tristan without even noticing he was there.   
  
"Seto! Where are you going?!" Tristan called out, but Kaiba had already left. "Yugi! I'm going after Kaiba!" He shouted up the stairs and bolted out the door to catch up to his friend.   
  
******************  
  
Yugi leaned up against the wall for support and slowly slid down to a sitting position on the ground. 'Why can't he understand we're just trying to help? Why won't he listen?' Yugi buried his face in his arms, trying to think things through... But nothing he could do can make this better... 'Nothing...'  
  
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Téa woke up the next morning in a cozy bed inside a large room. The bed was queen-sized and a mirror hung on the wall beside the bed. Fresh flowers were placed in a vase on the dresser next to her bed. The lace curtains were opened to a magnificent view of the city below. A watercolor painting of Seto and Mokuba together hung on the opposite wall of her bed and a shelf of books stood underneath the painting.  
  
"This place... this place..." Téa repeated to herself. "It's Seto's mansion..." She realized in shock.   
  
  
Hushpuppy24: lol~! Realize where I got that entire last paragraph^^|| It's all from chapter 2 of 'The Difference One Person Can Make'. I hate to have to use it again...but I wanted to make a point that Téa was back at that exact spot again~!^^ THERE, are you happy BEN?! (pcy-623) This guy's been buggin' me to update and I was so annoyed that it actually SLOWED DOWN my writing...-_-|| and HE KNOWS I still have a stupid math honours final coming up so I need EXTRA studying this week that I get off... but NOOOO, he's so selfish that he bugs me day and night to WRITE, WRITE, WRITE. I dun mind writing, I like to write^^ But not when I'm under pressure or EXTREME annoyance...¬.¬ anyways^^ like always. Sorry for slow updates but I had lots to do...and it's just semester turn around right now...but I got math mid finals right after next week... and -_-|| I'm at 85% for math...so this final can determine whether I get an A or a B. or down to 55% cuz this final is worth 30% for both term one and two... and I already got low marks for each so I gotta do good... O.o|| Wish me luck^^ lol  
  
OH YEA! And if you wanna check out what's up with my life, you could check my xanga... leave comments or whatever. Just drop me a line if you want to know approximately when the next chappie can come out. ^^ It's at www.xanga.com/hushpuppy24. it's also written at my bio so bleh^^ 


	8. Words of Inspiration and Corruption

Disclaimer: Forgot about this thing last time...^^|| so anyways, like you all know, I don't own Yu Gi Oh.   
  
Hushpuppy24: Ummm... before I start I want to make something clear. I am NOT grade 12...^^|| I'm actually only grade 9...^^ If I were grade 12 I'd be taking the provincial exams around this time and I wouldn't even have been able to update LAST chapter...^^ I should really be studying but then...it's just so hard...-_-|| And to MaidenoftheMoon, that annoying stalker person is actually my friend~! LOL^^ But oh well...^^ But then again... he is kind of a stalking person... Ask him what I mean if you want to know cuz I don't think he'll appreciate me telling his life story on ff.net... lol^^ sigh... guess I really lost a lot of readers from not updating... in time... ^^|| Oh well. I'll live...^^  
  
Summary time~!  
  
After being shot down by Seto, Téa was very upset and accidentally took that out on Mai. Completely shocked herself, she quickly apologized and ran out into the streets that evening. Mai, a little upset, decided to go onto the balcony to cool down a bit as Joey followed her out as well. Mai told Joey how she wanted to go back home, and that she was thankful for befriending her. Meanwhile, Yugi arrived at Seto's room and they had a small fight. Yugi tried to explain, but Kaiba's stubbornness was impenetrable. Overcame with rage he bolted out the door as Tristan ran after him. Téa wandered through the streets and finally stopped to catch her breath. Her body drained of energy; she collapsed in front of some stranger. Waking up the next morning, she found herself in Kaiba's mansion.  
  
Chapter 8  
  
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"This place... this place..." Téa repeated to herself. "It's Seto's mansion..." She realized in shock.  
  
"So you finally woke up huh?" A familiar voice spoke, but sounded very peeved in a way.   
  
Téa turned to her right and saw a pink ball of fluff with a very pissed off face on it. Their hair covered their eyes so they darkened into the shadows.  
  
"AHHH!" Téa let out a yell and nearly fell out of bed. Her heart pounded as she tried to calm herself down.   
  
"HEY! I'm not THAT scary looking am I?" Asked the pink haired girl.  
  
"Alex!" Téa exclaimed with delight and relief. "For a minute there, I thought Seto had been collecting huge dust bunnies in his house." She joked.  
  
"Ha ha... very funny..." Alex said, her voice dripping with sarcasm. "I haven't seen you in the longest time!" She said as she gave Téa a quick hug. "Why didn't you tell me you came back?!"  
  
"Well I..." Téa tried to think up of some excuse to prevent herself from being yelled at anymore.   
  
"Enough with the small talk, it's time to get down to business!" Alex spoke all of a sudden.   
  
"What business?" Téa asked with a puzzled look on her face.   
  
"You know what I'm talking about..." Alex accused. "Why in the world would you break up with Seto?! I mean... IT'S SETO KAIBA HERE! THE SETO KAIBA! Haven't I taught you anything?! Oh wait... I haven't... but still... WHY?! You guys were getting along so great last time I heard from you..."  
  
Téa's face suddenly saddened, but that didn't seem to bother Alex. "People change..." Téa sighed.  
  
"I just talked to you like a month ago... People don't change THAT quickly... at least they shouldn't...just tell me! If Seto's doing anything that's hurting you, then just let me at'em!" Alex suggested angrily. "I'll go give him A PIECE OF MY MIND!"  
  
"I thought you didn't HAVE much of a brain...more or less of a mind." Someone said jokingly.   
  
"Oh yea?" Alex said with a cocked up eyebrow.   
  
"Yup!" From behind a corner, Mokuba stood with some toast and milk. He walked over to Téa and put them down on the dresser next to her. "How are you feeling?" He asked with a gentle smile on his face.   
  
"I'm just super!" Alex piped up happily.   
  
"I'm asking Téa... not YOU." Mokuba teased.   
  
"I knew that!" Alex corrected with her arms crossed and a pout on her face.   
  
"I'm ok." Téa giggled. "You two sure get along great together." She said with a smile.   
  
"You call THIS getting along great?" Both Alex and Mokuba said in unison, but that only made Téa laugh even harder.   
  
"The toast and milk are for you Téa." Mokuba informed.   
  
"Thanks." Téa replied as she reached for a piece of toast. It was nice and flaky, definitely prepared specially and not just stuck into the toaster and then done! Instant toast. She bit into it and her eyes widened. "YUM! This is delicious! And you made this Mokuba?"  
  
"I wish I could take the credit but I didn't make it..." Mokuba explained.  
  
"Of course not! This guy over here can't even work a microwave correctly! You just can't believe THIS is the guy that's the brother of a multi-billionaire, Seto Kaiba, who's like a total technology genius!" Alex cried out.  
  
"And you can do better? Hmmm?" Mokuba tried to defend himself.   
  
"Of course!" Alex gloated. "At least I CAN use the microwave." She said proudly with her head high.   
  
"Yea...because that's all you CAN use..." Mokuba muttered under his breath.   
  
"I heard that..." Alex said while glaring at Mokuba, trying to sound bitter, but instead it only made Mokuba and Téa burst out in laughter. "What?" Alex asked, trying to sound innocent.  
  
"Actually, Ayumi was the one who made it." Mokuba said quietly and looked to see if Téa was ok. He knew exactly why his brother and Téa broke up. Even if Seto hadn't told him, he would've known anyways... since Ayumi was the one that told him!  
  
"Ayumi?" Téa whispered. 'That's right... Seto's new girlfriend...' She thought angrily, but her anger and frustration only made her sad. 'Why am I being mad anyways? Seto... I mean... Kaiba and I aren't together anymore... There's no reason why I should care... This is so unlike me! Yelling at my friends and just being mad at myself... WHAT'S WRONG WITH ME?!' Téa screamed at herself as she squeezed her eyes shut.  
  
A knock came upon the door as it slowly creaked open. "May I come in?" A soft, yet perky, voice asked. A blue haired girl around Téa's age appeared at the doorway. "Well... Nice to meet you again." She said with a smile.   
  
Téa opened her eyes again and stared at the blue haired girl. 'Ayumi...'  
  
"Hey Ayumi!" Mokuba exclaimed. "I believe you two know each other." He assumed. "Come on Alex. Let's go!" Mokuba whispered in Alex's ear.   
  
"But why?" Alex pouted.   
  
"Just come on! I'll take you skating!" Mokuba suggested.  
  
"But I don't know how to skate..." Alex whined. "And if I fall, I'm taking you down with me!" She joked as the two of them left the room hand in hand.   
  
"Well... Hi there..." Ayumi said quietly.   
  
"Hi..." Téa replied softly. "I suppose... you were the one that brought me back here..."   
  
"Why would you think that?" Ayumi was a little surprised at the tone Téa had spoken in, but she flashed her back a smile anyways.   
  
"Because..." Téa hesitated. "Never mind... Thanks." She said trying to not make any eye contact whatsoever.   
  
Silence broke between the both of them. "So..." Ayumi began.   
  
"I'd really not want to talk about it." Téa mumbled quickly.  
  
"How'd you-?!" Ayumi said shockingly and gave a light smile. "Well even if you say not to, I have to!" She gave a determined look on her face. Unfortunately for her, Téa didn't seem to be looking. "Why are you mad at Seto anyways?"   
  
Téa cringed at his name, but she decided to stay silent.  
  
"Is it because of me? Because girl! If that's your reason, it's not a really good one!" Ayumi pointed out.  
  
Téa was completely shocked. "What do you mean that's not a good reason?! Wouldn't you be mad if YOUR boyfriend dumped you for another girl?!"   
  
"Problem is... Is he the one that dumped you?" Ayumi asked with one eyebrow higher than the other.   
  
Téa choked on her words. She's never realized this before... but Ayumi was right. Seto didn't break up with her. Her thoughts floated back to a week ago...  
  
*Flashback*  
  
"Don't touch me." Téa muttered coldly.   
  
Seto was completely taken back by this and a look of hurt appeared on his face. "T...T...Téa?" He stuttered in fear for the first time, fear that she would leave him. "Is...there something bothering you?"   
  
"Yes, in fact there is." She said. "It's over." Téa said as stiffly as she could, trying to hold back her tears.  
  
*Flashback*  
  
"Oh my god..." Téa whispered out. "It's all my fault..." She cried out as she buried her head in her hands. Tears streamed down her cheeks and fell onto the silk sheets.   
  
Ayumi sat down on the bed put a hand on Téa's shoulder. "Believe me... Seto's not my type." She tried to joke. "He's... too uptight for my taste." Téa's head lifted to see a smile on Ayumi's face. "Besides..." Ayumi continued. "I think you've healed his soul... The last time I saw him, he was just another kid that won't open up to anyone. And even if he did, he hadn't been as happy as if he had been with you. I should know... I mean... He's been going on and on about you ever since I found him!" Ayumi rolled her eyes in annoyance. "Whoever knew a guy could go on for so long like this..." She giggled. "But it only showed how much he loved and cared for you... And I'm sure he still does..." Ayumi's eyes started to water a bit, but she wiped the tears away. "Oh my... I'm no good with these speeches... I'm too much of a tomboy to ever shed tears so easily..." She said with a sigh. "I mean the only way you could tell I was a girl was all because of this long blue hair!"   
  
Téa let out a small laugh. "Thanks Ayumi..." She sighed out. "...For everything..."   
  
"Hey... it's no biggie." She said with delight and energy as she jumped back onto her feet and gave Téa a thumbs up. "You better wash up if you want to see Seto! If he saw you like this, he'd probably run away screaming!" Ayumi said sarcastically. "There are some clothes in the closet you can change into. They should fit... I spent hours shopping for them!"  
  
"You planned all this?!" Téa asked.  
  
"Well I didn't really plan for you to faint in the middle of the street and make me carry you all the way back here ALL BY MYSELF! But I did want to have a talk with you, so you could say that!" She winked before exiting the room. "I'll be waiting outside."  
  
Téa let out a loud sniffle when she heard a murmur from outside.  
  
"USE A TISSUE!" She heard Ayumi call out.  
  
"Oh bother..." Téa got up and went into the bathroom to splash some water on herself. 'Maybe she's right... I just hope Seto can forgive me...' She wiped off the water with a towel and scoured the closet for a nice blouse and skirt.   
  
******************  
  
"Kaiba! Would you AT LEAST wait for me!" Tristan called out as he ran after Seto who was speeding down the streets.   
  
Seto only continued to run on. Where? It didn't matter to him really as long as he's alone. 'This is what I get when I try to love someone... Just like everyone I've ever loved, they all just end up leaving me. So why bother loving anyone at all?!' Seto thought with frustration. "JUST LEAVE ME ALONE!" He screamed.   
  
Both he and Tristan ran for several minutes, neither giving in to slow down. They finally reached the end of an alley.   
  
"Kaiba!" Tristan shouted as he finally managed to get a hold of Seto's shoulder. "Could you just tell me what's going on?!" Seto squirmed away from Tristan's grip and tried to run away, but Tristan had caught him by the back of his collar, pulling him back to the ground.   
  
Seto picked himself back up, still trying to run, but this time, Tristan caught him by the front of his collar and slammed him against a wall. "Could you just calm down for a freakin' minute?! Will it kill you to talk to someone about it for once instead of just running away?!"   
  
Tristan tried to make some sense to the boy whose eyes had turned back to the cold, heartless ones, but Seto only turned his eyes somewhere else.  
  
"Look. I don't know what Yugi told you up there. But whatever it is... is it really worth all this? I know you're upset about Téa... And you know that it's just a misunderstanding. Why don't you just tell her... She's a reasonable person. She'll listen to you..."  
  
"Don't you think I've tried?" Seto asked in a low, raspy voice. "This wasn't meant to be... I'm not supposed to care for anyone except myself!"  
  
Tristan suddenly felt an impact of something hitting his stomach. His grip on Seto loosened and he fell to the ground, both hands clutching at his wound. "Sorry..." Kaiba said as he stepped over Tristan and made his way out the alley.  
  
******************  
  
Seto continued walking until he reached the gates to his mansion. He walked up the long driveway and through the front door. Closing the door behind him, he made his way upstairs to his bedroom when he suddenly realized Ayumi standing in front of him.  
  
"Hey Seto! Where have you been?" She asked with delight.  
  
"I've been beat up by a sick little puppy dog. Just leave me alone." He said coldly.   
  
Ayumi felt a little hurt, but she was used to Seto's such remarks. "Anyways, you'll never guess who I ran into today." She spoke in tone as if she was expecting Seto to start guessing who the special person was. When she didn't get a response from him, she just blurted out that it was Téa.   
  
Seto's eyes widened slightly for a bit, but quickly shrank back to the once cold and ruthless ones. "And I care because?"   
  
******************  
  
Inside Téa's room, Téa glanced herself over in front of the mirror. She had on a nice white blouse and a light sky blue skirt. She hummed a little tune as she gave herself one last spin in front of the mirror. 'Perfect!' She thought with a smile. She could hear some murmuring going on outside, so she decided to go see what's happening. She opened the door a small crack so she could hear and see slightly what's going on. 'It's Seto!'  
  
******************  
  
"Well, you were just so upset because she thought that we were going out so I went to talk to her! It's all better now, we worked things out!" Ayumi tried to persuade Seto to think positively but it didn't seem to be working.   
  
"I don't need you fighting my battles for me!" Seto shouted out angrily. "Besides, I've lost all interest in that girl anyways. It wasn't love at all! I was lonely and just needed someone to push all my pain to. I don't love her. I never did and I never will. I don't need ANYONE! She was just another teenager... always with the lame friendship speeches. It makes me sick!"  
  
The door to Téa's room slowly swung open as Téa stood at the doorway... motionless. Tears trickled down her face as her hand clenched tight closed to her heart.   
  
"Téa..." Seto whispered shockingly to himself.   
  
  
Hushpuppy24: Well there's another chapter done^^ Hope you all like it^^ I'm like taking my study time to write this...probably because I really don't want to study...but then I have to...-_-|| hate proofs and stuff...*sigh* I'm guessing this sequel will end pretty soon too...probably around chapter 10... I know, I know... it's a lot shorter compared to the original 'The Difference One Person Can Make'... but that's usually how sequels are right? A lot shorter...^^|| I'll try to get the rest of the chapters up before this week ends or else you'll probably have to wait until spring break for anymore chapters to go up^^ R+R~! 


	9. For the Sake of my Beloved

Hushpuppy24: My goshies...this actually took a lot longer than expected to update...but that's what you get for participating in honours classes...*sighs* please don't be mad...=________= I don't really want to do the summaries anymore... so if you have forgotten what happened, reread it or something... sorry for the inconvenience^^"   
  
Chapter 9  
  
******************  
  
"Téa..." Seto whispered to himself. His body stiffened as the door swung opened, watching her lifeless body just stand there... crying, as if someone had stolen her soul. The once had glimmer in her eyes had vanished as she dropped down to her knees.  
  
Téa squinted hard as her tears made its way down her cheeks. Her hands fell to her side while her head hung low. Her tears dripped into the carpet, but they were quickly absorbed. 'My body's so weak...' She thought to herself. 'It hurts... my heart hurts so much... I want to leave... why can't I move?!'   
  
Seto watched as Téa suffered. He wanted to rush to her side and help her up, but he hesitated. In the end, he just stood there, trying to look away.  
  
'It's all a lie...' Téa repeated to herself in her mind. 'Everything we've been through... it's all a lie... He never wanted to be with me at all... it's all a lie...' Her hands clutched to the carpet as the words continued to float in her mind... over and over again, in a non-stop pattern. The words just wouldn't go away...  
  
"Seto what are you doing?!" Ayumi whispered loudly as she tugged at his coat, but Kaiba only turned away. "Apologize right now!"  
  
Kaiba took a quick glance at Téa. It had hurt him to see her suffer as well, but he just couldn't bring himself to speak. It was as if his throat closed up, not letting him make a sound. The words he said reminisced in his mind. 'Besides, I've lost all interest in that girl anyways. It wasn't love at all! I was lonely and just needed someone to push all my pain to. I don't love her. I never did and I never will. I don't need ANYONE! She was just another teenager... always with the lame friendship speeches. It makes me sick!' He shut his eyes tightly as he slammed his fist to the wall. The sudden movement surprised Ayumi a bit, but Téa was still lost in her thoughts.  
  
'I shouldn't have entered... I shouldn't have interfered with his life... I never should've been nice to that jerk anyways... I shouldn't have cared... I should've just kept my mouth shut and have gone home...' Her fists tightened even more and she could feel her fingernails digging into her skin. 'I can't take this anymore... I've got to get out of here!' She tried to stand up but her body just seemed to weigh her down. Her legs wobbled as she used to the wall as her aid to standing. She walked a couple steps towards the stairs but fell straight into Seto's outstretched arm. She didn't even take a look at Seto's slightly worried face before pushing his arm aside and continuing down the stairs. Kaiba's facial expression may not show a lot of sadness, but inside, his heart was being torn apart.   
  
Téa continued her way down but accidentally slipped at the bottom two or three steps. Her hair covered her face as she sulked in pain. The sudden noise caused Ayumi and Kaiba to look at what happened. Seto wanted so much to rush to her side but Ayumi had got there before him. He tried to act like he didn't care but his feelings were hard to hide.   
  
"Are you alright?" Ayumi asked Téa as she helped her up, but Téa quickly withdrew her hand from Ayumi's grasp and continued out the door. All Ayumi could do was stare worriedly at the door Téa left from.  
  
"Well?!" Ayumi asked angrily as she turned towards Seto. "I finally convinced her that you still loved her and what happens?! You go and blow it all... UNBELIEVABLE! Don't you still love her?"  
  
"I..." Seto hesitated with a soft look on his face, but that soon turned into a scowl. "I thought I made it clear outside her doorway that I want nothing to do with her anymore!" With those words, he walked off into the kitchen.   
  
Seto let out a sigh. "What am I thinking... how could I forget her..." He looked around him. "This exact place was where it all started..." He whispered to himself as he walked into the living room. He gave the couch a gentle stroke. "And here..." He thought back to that night where he'd given Téa a kiss on the cheek and the realization of his love for her. He swallowed hard and closed his eyes. "Well whatever it had been, it's gone now..." He said coldly as he headed back into his room, spending the rest of the afternoon looking out to the sea on his balcony.   
  
******************  
  
Téa wandered through the streets and suddenly found herself back at the Turtle Shop. She entered without making a sound. "Hi Téa! How are you?" Asked Yugi's grandpa, but Téa didn't say anything. She just went straight up to Yugi's room. She opened the door to Yugi's room and inside she found him just putting on a t-shirt, his head about halfway down his collar.  
  
"AHHH! Téa!" He yelled out as he quickly pulled down the rest of his t-shirt. "Haven't you heard of knocking?" He said a little peeved. He could see that Téa's eyes were starting to water. "Téa, are you ok? What's wrong?" He quickly rushed to her side and hugged her tightly. Téa could only sob uncontrollably on his shoulder. Yugi didn't bother asking what had happened and just stayed by her side. He let her sleep on his bed while he took the couch that night. That night, neither Téa, Seto or Yugi could sleep. Each person, thinking of the other in a non-stop circle.   
  
******************  
  
The morning approached quickly and it was time for another day of school. Téa walked with her friends to school as usual, but didn't say a word. Yugi and Joey walked behind to discuss about this dilemma.   
  
"Yug, what's wrong with Téa?" Joey asked.  
  
"I don't know..." Yugi replied with a worried look on his face. His eyebrows scrunched together as he thought. "But I have a feeling it has something to do with Kaiba."   
  
"That jerk! If I find out that he IS behind this, he'll be sorry he ever messed with Téa!" Joey spoke loudly.   
  
"I'll be fine..." Téa mumbled. Yugi and Joey could barely hear it, but they could make out the words.   
  
"Téa..." The both of them said with a sigh. She gave them a weak reassuring smile before continuing to walk on.   
  
******************  
  
The day seemed like it would never end, but it finally did. The final bell of the day finally rang as Téa headed down the halls. She hugged her textbooks close to her chest, head still hanging low. A sudden impact caused her to drop all her books on the floor. "Watch where you're going." The voice said.   
  
'... That voice...' Téa thought as she looked up.   
  
Kaiba's eyes widened as soon as he saw Téa's face. He swallowed hard before walking away. "Sorry..." He mumbled quietly under his breath, but Téa couldn't hear him.   
  
She quickly picked up her textbooks and just stared at Seto as he walked down the halls, disappearing into the crowd of students. '...So I guess it's really over...' She thought to herself before going to meet the rest of her friends.  
  
"Hey Téa! What took you so long?" Yugi asked.   
  
"It was nothing..." Téa replied. "Nothing worth my time..." She said as she took one last look at where everything had started.  
  
Hushpuppy24: Well that's that...^^" I know it was a really short chapter but I seriously haven't written in a long time... *cough 5 months cough* lol^^" so my writing's still a little rusty... Should I end the story there? Because I didn't know whether to do a happy or a sad ending... so I just made it like this so in case you people do want a happy ending I could make it that way^^" So please tell me what you think. Sorry if it took so long to update or that this chapter is really bad... I haven't written in while so my brain isn't functioning so great...lol~ so tell me if u want a happy instead... or if this is just fine^^" because if it's fine then I'll be starting a new fic~ Probably of Inu Yasha or something... just another fic from the list of animes I like on my profile^^ R+R~ 


End file.
